Of rain
by DishevelledAngle
Summary: The door was slammed, and cold air flew into her face. Chills ran down her spine. She looked to her side, where a strong hand rested against the door. Was it her fever, or was it shining? Shining like jewels were planted into it... She found herself wanting to pick a jewel from his arm, but was quickly pulled back into reality. ItaSaku


**This was actually originally a chapter from a story I deleted. I really regret deleting it...it was an accident...Oops...:) **

* * *

She walked into the lobby of an inn, the old woman at the desk eyeing her, mouth wide open. She must have looked pretty bad, the woman's reaction told it all.

"Darling what happened? We need to have you showered and dressed in some clean clothes!" Oh yes, some old women weren't used to seeing young ladies in soaked silky nightgowns covered in blood and mud.

_Do I really look that bad?_

_Question is do you really smell that bad..._

Her legs began to shiver as she started to move. While she tripped over her every step, she stared at the ground giving the old lady the impression that something may had happened to her.

The acting wasn't really that hard. It probably wasn't acting at all.

Her legs were failing her. She collapsed towards the floor with much force. She tried to lift herself up, only to collapse again.

It wasn't much of a surprise though. She was almost completely out of chakra, and such big physical activity after being chained for so long had taken it's toll on her body.

She laid there, waiting for the woman to come and check if she's alright. Sakura heard the woman say something, and another thing and probably one more thing before she felt a pair of warm hands slide under her stomach, flipping her to her back before picking her up and carrying her bridal style.

The old woman was pretty strong.

They went through a hall before a door was kicked open.

She was than laid on something warm and soft.

Sakura laid on the soft cotton comforter relishing the feel of it on her bare, sweaty, dirty skin. So long has it been since the last time she had laid in one. The thick mattress sunk in under her weight. It wasn't like the one she remembered from home, but it was better than an iron floor drenched in blood.

And now she was going to have the sheets drenched in it, along with a few other things.

She didn't want to trouble the old woman. Surely, she had already been so kind to give her a room, a bed and a roof over her head. Last thing she wanted to do was leave a mess for the woman to have to pick up.

Sakura sighed heavily, convincing herself that the bed wouldn't disappear while she was gone.

Her green eyes shone from the light that came from the window, they located a door which she assumed was a bathing room.

Patting the bed softly, as if parting from it would kill her, Sakura rose to her feet, wobbling around on them as she tried to balance herself. Her head ached, and the taste of vomit and stomach acids made it's way up her throat. She smelled it on her breath as she exhaled, failing at a few attempts to swallow it.

She staggered toward the wash room, nearly collapsing again once she made it to the knob. It was strange. so strange. Her brain seemed to be in perfect shape, her thoughts ran fluidly, things weren't cloudy- though her body seemed to be in a different state.

She couldn't take a step without wobbling, couldn't reach out without pain shooting through the muscles in her arms.

Ugh...She hated being out of shape.

She turned the knob, then pushed a light switch which sat on the wall near the door. A clean white light washed the room, instantly, momentarily blinding her. She blinked three- four times to refocus her vision.

It was clean. A small shower stood on the other side of the room, facing the door, glass surrounding it. A toilet and sink in front of it. There were clean towels on a rack between the sink and the shower. She smiled faintly.

Her feet tiptoed toward the shower. She removed her small nightgown on her way, by the time she made it there her breath was heaving. She felt her heart beating fast, heard the beats in her head, almost like her heart was there, pounding through her ears. She grabbed two small aluminum packages of what appeared to be shampoo and body wash, then slowly, with almost all of the strength she could muster, she pushed the glass shower door opened.

Her hand shook as she turned the knob for the shower, warm water rushed on her hand she stepped in.

She didn't bother to close the door.

She pushed her back up against the wall for support, pulled the shampoo package open and poured all of it's contents in to her hand. Her hand had almost been tempted to begin the washing process when she suddenly remembered.

_Shouldn't I wet my hair first?_

Careful not to let her shampoo be washed out of her hand by the rushing water, her pink hair was placed under the stream. She used her free hand to try and untangle the dry blood and muddy mess that her hair was, watching as a brown crooked line ran down her shoulders, over her small breast, down her abdomen, into her navel, down her lower abdomen and into a small crack between her almost bluish skin and her pantie line.

Her eyes grew wide. She forgot to take off her panties. She got into the shower with them on...

Well they needed washing anyway.

Pale hands carefully pilled them from her skin. She let them slide down her legs and stepped out of them, slipping and hitting her shoulder on the wall.

Sakura winced, immediately comforting her shoulder, then growled as she noticed the shampoo smeared on it.

Evidently pissed, she scraped the shampoo off of her shoulder and dumped it into her hair, massaging it into the tangled mess, scraping and pulling at it. When she finally finished, she stomped her way back under the water, her face lowered toward the floor.

She watched as the brown liquid pooled at her feet as it ran down the drain. Her fingers squeezed at her hair, more blood and mud being washed down.

Once she decided that she did enough of that, she bent over and grabbed the aluminum pack of body wash, cautiously tearing it at the corner, she poured a generous amount in her hand, and began scrubbing her self down.

In the midst of all of this, she found herself asking_ how the fuck_ did she get herself into her predicament.

* * *

Sakura secured the towel around her chest, then returned to washing her clothes using the remaining contents of the body wash package.

When she squeezed the rest of the water from her nightgown, she felt pain shoot through out her entire body. For a moment she thought her arms were going to be stuck in the positions they were in, in front of her, over the sink, hands tight around the twisted fabric. It was almost like her body wouldn't respond to her brain's command, and she could only find a bit of humor in it all.

_How dare you be so rebellious, body?_

Her body shivered as she made her way back into the room. She carefully laid her clothing down on the floor near the window before crawling back into the bed and removing the towel so that she could climb under the comforter- comfortably.

And she didn't give the slightest of shits that there were grains of dirt on top of it.

Then something caught her attention. There was a shadow near her door. Straining her eyes , she could make out a face, a cloak, and even with the small amount of lighting, the red clouds stood out.

She watched as his eyes slowly opened, revealing their crimson selves, along with the three commas.

Obviously afraid, Sakura scurried deeper into her comforter, tried to push herself into the headboard. She shield her head in the warmth of it, afraid to look back up.

She was sure she was hallucinating. There was no way she left any tracks. Actually, she was sure she hadn't. He wasn't in her room, leaning on the door with his arms folded and eyes closed, and she wasn't feeling sick. Her body wasn't shuddering. Her breath wasn't heaving. Her heart wasn't beating so fast. She was not about to-

She raced toward the bathroom , her hand clasped her mouth, her feet struggled to get her to her destination.

Her knees slammed into the hard, cold floor, and if she wasn't too busy gagging, she probably would have noticed the pain that coursed through her legs.

She felt her bile rise through her throat, well she thought it was, burning it. She coughed as she did, clutching her chest with her hand, trying to make sure that her heart stays in place.

She was hallucinating. She was hallucinating. She was dreaming. He wasn't there. He hadn't found her.

Not able to stand up without pain wrecking her, Sakura crawled back to the bed and crawled under the comforter, facing the window, too afraid to look toward the door. Her breath was still harsh, heavy, and quick. She took deep breaths at attempts to both calm her lungs and her heart's beating rate, because if she didn't, she'd sweat more, and the last thing she needed was a cold.

As if on cue, she coughed. She could taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, feel it slowly run down her chin, hear it drip onto the sheet. Her throat burned, her stomach again churned.

If she hadn't known better, she would have thought herself dying.

Yes, dying.

She would love to just die. Right then and there.

Another shuddering cough. This time her hand covered her mouth, instinct- she'd guessed, or just having it drilled into her head by her mother.

Mother...

Sakura felt a tear roll from her hooded eyes, down her cheek, then finally hear it fall onto the bed. More came, falling slowly, after equally measured moments.

Almost like rain on an umbrella.

Rain...

Her eyes finally closed, rolling to the back of her head.

Somewhere, deep in her sleep, Sakura could have sworn she felt somebody pull the comforter up to cover her neck.

* * *

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, the light from the window created strange shadows in the room. She knew that she was hearing noises. People talking, plates being stacked, a shower running somewhere.

Oh, she was in an inn.

She turned her head from the ceiling, lying on her side.

Her eyes grew large at the site of blood, and last night's events quickly flowed into her brain. She quickly sat up, clutching her aching stomach and chest and pounding head with her hands. She tasted the bile threatening to rise back up her throat, and quickly forced herself to breath at a slower pace. Deep breaths.

Breath in...

Breath out...

She carefully climbed out of the edge of the bed, the cool air sticking to her sweaty skin. She has a fever. She cautiously rose from the bed, and her vision blurred. Resisting the urge to lay back down, she took small slow steps toward the bathing room, her hands still clutching her stomach and head, her pink bangs matted to her forehead, the rest of her hair sticking to her shoulders and bare chest, her shoulder leaned against the wall for balance and support.

She stumbled her last steps, as her head ache intensified. Sure there will be medical supplies inside of the sink's cabinet. She had no chakra to heal her wrecked body, she had used most of it to heal her leg, to fight off the fish looking Akatsuki member, and to run away from that place. Her hand grabbed the knob, and she almost collapsed when she opened the door.

The site that greeted her ensured that she did.

She found herself on her butt, scurrying away on her hands and feet, her head bumping into the bed. She used the bed to aid her getting up, fumbling as she tried to grab hold of her clothes, fumbling more as she tried to put them on. She slipped while trying to slide her panties on and didn't bother to try and get back up. She quickly- well as quickly as she could manage, slid them the rest of the way up her thighs. Her brain wasn't as perk as it was a few hours before, and Sakura scowled at this. She couldn't care less if her head was hurting, her stomach aching, her throat was sore, and that she was freezing. Her hands found their way to the bed, and she urged herself to get off of the cold floor. She couldn't get up. Her body was wrecked. Worse than it was last night. She crawled toward the door, her arms and thighs burning, overly strained with effort.

She grabbed the door handle and with the all of her strength, pulled herself to her feet. She leaned against it, panting heavily, Her heart booming in her ears. If she wasn't going to die from chakra depletion and exhaustion, she was going to die from cardiac arrest. Her hand shivered as it laid against the handle. She carefully turned it, and opened it.

The door was slammed, and cold air flew into her face. Chills ran down her spine. She looked to her side, where a strong hand rested against the door. Was it her fever, or was it shining? Shining like jewels were planted into it. She found herself wanting to pick a jewel from his arm, but was quickly pulled back into reality.

She quickly turned her head to face him, agonizing pain washing through her. Her chest and throat quickly followed, and the room had become icily chilling again. In the distance, Sakura could hear people chatting, and glass crash into the floor. She no longer heard the shower running.

She stared up at him, and watched as his figure split into two-three-four...and the faces floated around. _"Are you going to trap me like how you did Naruto that time?" _She found herself wanting to ask, but her chapped lips wouldn't move.

Her head cocked to the side And her eyes slowly began to close, before somehow, her body rose back to life- though only for a moment. Sakura cursed at herself for having enough strength to convulse violently as she coughed up blood and mucus, spattering it across his chest and abdomen, she quickly raised her hands to cover her mouth,and hold her chest. letting go of the door knob that helped her stand stably. Blood filled her hand, seeping through her cracked fingers, dripping onto the floor in the rhythm rain would on a window.

She stared at her blood stained hand, before the feeling of falling engulfed her body. She fell to her kneed before a strong arm grabbed her around the waist, raising her to her feet before picking her up completely. His body was cold. Water from his hair, which hung over his shoulder, seeping into her thin nightgown. She shivered against him, and stared up at the moving ceiling.

She was laid on something soft, and a dried blood stain appeared beside her, disappearing behind the white comforter. Her eyes began to roll into her head, and fatigue took the best of her.

* * *

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open, It was dark in the room, the only light coming from the window. Her breaths were shallow and quick. She glanced about the room. She was sure that he was there. She hadn't dreamed that. He was there to take her back, so that they could get whatever the fuck they wanted from her.

She felt icy cold air fly over her head. A shaking hand rose to her forehead. Her fingers brushed lightly over a piece of wet cloth. Pain coursed through her arm, and with effort, she pulled it back down, wincing.

She ran a hand over her bare sticky breast-

He undressed her.

Something clicked to her left, and she watched light flood in. A short silhouette stood in the doorway, a tray in it's arms. A smile graced her lips as the figure got closer.

"Oh you're awake." Her voice rang with joy and worry. "For a moment there I thought you wouldn't...wake up." She placed the tray down on a small drawer chest. "Thank kami your handsome friend came to me when he did."

Sakura laid there, mouth gaping open.

"You poor child. Came down with pneumonia. You've been sleep for about two or three days. I can't quite remember. I've treated pneumonia quite a few times, I had two little girls who came down with it long ago, I got them back on their feet. Oh dear, am I talking too much?" She gave Sakura a warm smile before helping her sit up. "Don't move around so much, you'll hurt yourself." She held a spoon up to Sakura's lips. Sakura sipped the liquid into her mouth, quite intoxicated by it's sweet flavor. "Your fever went down, thank goodness. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I'm dying..." She whispered, hating the gravel like feeling in her throat. Like it was graded with sand paper. The whisper barely heard.

"Oh, good, good. It means you're not dead yet. Here." Another spoon was thrust before her, and again, she complied and sipped away it's sweet contents. "You should never let yourself get to such a low on chakra." The old lady stated, Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you a medical kunoichi?" Sakura asked, excitement evident in her hoarse whispering voice. The old woman chuckled and gave her another spoon.

"Used to be. I retired years ago." She sighed, as if in thought. "I was a kunoichi of Kirigakure. I left there after my husband was killed by shinobi of our own village. It was many years ago, when Yagura first began his reign. I was supposed to be tracked, followed and killed, instead, no one came." Sakura could hear the pain in her voice, "I'd guess they assumed I was killed during the raid on our home, blown into pieces by explosive tags, my body parts somewhere deep down in the sea that stood at my doorstep." Her smile returned, and she pushed the spoon into Sakura's mouth.

The old woman brought the tray from the chest of drawers, and sat back down on Sakura's bed. The fragrance of potato and mushroom soup then filled the area.

"You really need to eat. You're so skinny, like you haven't eaten in months. I could count your ribs!" She filled a spoon with the creamy soup and Sakura opened her mouth wide. "Slow down. Not too much at one time, okay? You'll throw up, and I'll have to change the sheets again." Sakura nodded and slowed down- well tried to slow down. She devoured the soup, the warm liquid washing down her throat. It tasted so good...So good...It had been so long since she had eaten. Tsunade would scold her if she knew, lecture her about how stupid weakening her body was, how she was weakening her immune system, and how she would make herself sick. And Sakura...Sakura would sit there, irritated- because she'd been lectured about it before, so many times before. She wouldn't show it though, because then her shishou would become infuriated.

An angry Tsunade was a dangerous Tsunade.

And if Sakura was less of Sakura, she'd miss her. Miss her lecturing, and miss her temper. But Sakura, was Sakura, and she doesn't forgive so easily.

She chewed on a small piece of mushroom from the soup, swallowing it quickly.

"I destroyed the bacteria in your lungs with my chakra. You should be up and moving by tomorrow morning. I've got some clothes you could wear here, though they may be a bit big on you." She sighed heavily. "Come, dear, I'll help you to the shower." She held a hand out, and Sakura grabbed it, climbing out of the bed, and leaning on the old woman for support.

Her limbs were stiff, aching and stiff, and the cold bathroom floor wasn't helping. The woman left Sakura leaning on the sink while she ran the water in the shower. Sakura stared at herself in the mirror, quite horrified, barely able to recognize the small, frail person on the other side.

Yes, Tsunade sure would lecture her.

"It's ready!" The lady walked toward Sakura and grabbed her by the arm, Sakura still stared into the mirror.

She was forced into the shower, giving her no time to adjust to the freezing cold water that ran from it. When she reached for the knob to warm the water up, her hand was smacked.

"Give it a moment." She said.

A minute passed, and Sakura's teeth chattered , her body shook violently, then the old lady decided to turn the water to hot.

Scolding hot.

And Sakura wanted to run out of the shower and return to the sanctuary of the quite musty sheets. Then, the water temperature changed again, freezing cold.

Her muscles tensed under the ice cold water, relaxing under the hot water. The woman kept this routine going for another five minutes, before finally just having the water on warm.

Sakura noticed that her muscles weren't as stiff as they were before, and she silently thanked the woman, before two hands filled with shampoo began to scrub at her tender scalp.

"You have such beautiful long hair, quite exotic. First person I've ran into with pink hair."

"Thank you." Sakura whispered in reply.

"You should comb it more often though."

Sakura smirked at this. Her head was then pushed back under the rush of water. She was then scrubbed down with a small cloth and soap, then rinsed.

She stepped from the shower, and a towel was draped over her shoulders, another ruffled through her hair. She was then led from the bathing room, and instructed to sit in a chair. She pulled her legs to her chest as she began to shiver once again.

The old woman quickly changed the sheets, placing a new comforter over the bed and new pillow cases on the pillows, then told Sakura to come sit on the bed.

She pulled out a brush and comb, and began to comb through Sakura's tangled hair, yanking at it a few times, receiving muffled growls from Sakura.

She brushed through Sakura's stringy hair gently, then massaging a sweet smelling tincture into it. By the time she finished, Sakura was ready to sleep again. She watched as the lady walked away, the tray with her, becoming a silhouette when she opened the door, then disappearing completely, darkness again wafting through the room.

Though Sakura's brain screamed for sleep, her eyes wouldn't shut. She laid there, thinking about where he was, where did he disappear to...Would he be back? She could leave in the morning...She could run away, then dye her hair. Cutting it wouldn't due, it would always grow back and her forehead would look bigger... She'd dye it...Probably brown, or blonde to go with her bright green eyes. She'd cut it and dye it every day, and she'd start over, start a new life.

Maybe she'd even tan her skin.

The door suddenly clicked and opened, and she saw him there, his eyes shining bright red. Maybe she should have went back to sleep. She quickly covered herself, then snuggled into a ball, trying to hide, or somehow keep herself safe.

He seemed to stare at her for a while, then he closed the door behind him, made a few strides and sat in the chair near the window. He folded his arms, leaned back into the chair, then closed his eyes.

Now she stared, her eyes wide with terror, the words _I'm going to die_, rang through her head over and over. He looked like he was asleep, but she knew better.

Her disobedient, defiant brain had finally gave into her body's demands, and she fell into a world of sleep.

* * *

When she woke up, he wasn't there. There was a tray with fruit, warm pieces of bread, butter, and a glass of water. The old woman had left her some clothes near the tray, folded neatly. Sakura sat up quickly, surprised that her head wasn't aching. She grabbed the tray, drank down the water, and waited for it to go down. She counted fifteen minutes, before she reached for a peach.

_Great, I'm starving._

As she bit in to it, it's juices ran down her chin. If she wasn't so focused on the peach she would have noticed it, would have tried to wipe it off.

She then grabbed a warm bun with the butter, devouring it quickly. An orange was sliced, sitting on the far end of her plate. She ate away every slice, spitting away the seeds that dared challenged her. She rose from the bed, grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom.

When she opened the door, he stood there, tying his hair with a red ribbon. His skilled fingers quickly wrapped the ribbon about his hair, before quickly running through a series of looping and pulling. He gave it one final tug before turning and shooting a glance toward her.

Her blood froze in her veins.

He seemed to notice it. He grabbed his things, brushed past her and closed the door behind him, leaving a confused Sakura behind.

Well...He did smell good.

And she was fucking scared.

Because she forgot that he was there.

Which was dangerous.

She was still going to die.

And realization hit her with the breeze that flew through the glass shutters on the small window on the side of the shower.

So Sakura quickly slid into the dress, which was a bit big, and tied her hair up.

She lifted her leg to rest on the windowsill, which was pretty high, and pushed herself onto it. Her legs swung over to the other side, and she squeezed her small hips through, until she was plunging toward the ground.

And a pair of arms caught her.

So Sakura sighed with irritation, because it was cliche, and whoever is writing this story sucks.

She'd punch her, if she could.

But then, Sakura remembered she was supposed to be scared out of her fucking mind, so she gasped, and her eyes grew wide, and she pushed away from him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." his smooth voice coursed through her ears, and bounced off of their drums, it echoed through her head, repeating itself necessarily, because she was too distracted by the sound to understand the words.

Such a beautiful voice...Can he sing?

She blinked.

"You're...not?", she whispered, and watched him nod.

Her heart's reckless beating began to calm, and Sakura finally came to notice that it was raining, and that her bun was coming apart.

He lowered her to the ground and handed her a black cloak. The cold ran down her spine along with a rain drop that ran down her forehead. She accepted it, and wiped the rain from her face.

* * *

She wasn't able to run, let alone, walk. How she was able to jump out of the window, was way beyond her. Even with her chakra replenishing, after an hour of walking through the dark forest, she felt fatigue and nausea slap at her face. She didn't even know why she followed him. He said he wasn't going to hurt her, but still...What would she even find with him. Wouldn't it be better if she just went and made herself some new identity, you know, like the chick on _Salt _did? Her body told her to follow him though...Well it didn't exactly tell her, it just did.

_Damn you, body._

He seemed to notice her hesitation, because the sound of his foot steps in front of her ceased, and the only sound around them was the melody of rain drops which fell from one leaf to another. Equally timed. Soft. Beautiful.

And she hated it.

She straightened her posture, and returned to walking, only to have his hand block her.

"Don't move."

As if on cue, the smell of blood filled her nostrils, and the faintest of chakra's crept onto her radar.

She recognized it.

So vibrant, though faint.

Memories of the blonde flooded her conscious.


End file.
